Bye Oz I'm sure we'll be coming back

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Geo: 1.3, 103.85

Well there's no change in my condition which is a bit worrying but there it is.

After a leisurely start we loaded the mini bus for the last time and set off to the hire depot in Brisbane, I must admit was expecting an argument over the state of the vehicle. We pulled into the car hirer's checking bay and was immediately welcomed by a smiling representative I apologised for the state of the vehicle and told him I thought the Melbourne office had done the dirty on them and palmed them off with their worst vehicle, he looked over the original defect sheet and we walked around the mini bus together with him going erm, ooh, argh. As we completed the inspection he turned to me, gave me a knowing smile and said everything's in order, hope you enjoyed the trip and would we use East Coast Car Rentals again. Well I'm not sure about that but we'll see, at the moment Michelle and I were just glad to see the back of that blessed bus. The courtesy vehicle arrived and we were driven to the international airport with bags off time to spare before our flight to Singapore.

After a great dinner at one of the numerous restaurants we were off to check out the duty-free shops. The kids were anxious to use up the last of their Ozzie dollars there wasn't much for them and then we found the authentic Australian goods shop, the kids loved it we spent ages in there whilst they tried to make their minds up, Jake in particular was struggling to find something when he came across some smaller didgeridoos (he'd seen the full size ones which apart from the size were also too expensive) but they cost more than he had I told him if it's what he really wanted I'd give him the extra money "no it's alright Pops I'll find something else" he said and eventually found a few other items but I again caught him going back to the didgeridoos and checking them out. After everyone had found what they wanted we walked to the checkout and joined the queue; I turned to Jake and said" this is your last chance Jake if you really want the didgeridoo make you mind up now" and off we trotted back into the shop where he calmly put all the items back he'd selected and went and chose his didgeridoo, the look on his face was worth every dollar.

As we waited for the plane it suddenly struck me I'd have to be very careful on board the plane as there's often a queue for the toilets which was somewhat worrying. After quite a few brandy & cokes and a pleasant meal I was straight up did what I had to do and was back again and so it went on throughout the flight not ideal but it could have been so much worse!

We cleared customs and made our way to our private transfer and were whisked off to the hotel. The first thing Jake saw upon getting out of the coach was the biggest snail he'd ever seen.

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